Apparatus for attempering material



Jan. 29, 1957 D. s. BAKER APPARATUS FOR ATTEMPERING MATERIAL Filed June17, 1953 By www@ A 7 TORNEVS .United States Patent() This inventionrelates to apparatus for treatin g materials to change theirtemperature, moisture or other characteristics.

The apparatus disclosed herein is particularly adapted for the treatmentof a wide range of materials including for example, dry colors,pigments, salts and other crystals, reclaimed rubber, ground cork, wool,food, pharmaceuticals, and heat sensitive materials generally.

Many materials, such for example as pharmaceutical materials, require tobe evenly dried in .a way which will not impair the quality of thematerial due to scorching or due to lack of protection from outsidecontamination. This may be accomplished in the vapparatus describedherein, in either a continuous -or a batch operation.

The apparatus comprising this invention also has special application formaterials which need to be pressed, shredded or otherwise separated ordivided during drying. For example if certain foods are broken up during.dehydrating just before reaching a critical degree ofstickiness'balling up of the material with Subsequent processingdiiculties may be avoided. Also if materials such as lammonium sulphateand other salts arebroken up peand apparatus for attempering heatsensitive material.

A further object of the invention is to provide method land apparatusadapted to attemper material uniformly without impairment o-f itsquality, and as a continuous operation.

Other objects of the invention will be in part obvious or in partpointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features `of construction,combinations of elements, arrangements of parts, and in the severalsteps and relation and order of each of said steps to one or more of theothers thereof, .all as will be pointed out in the followingdescription, and the scope of the application of which will be`indicated in the following claims.

The invention will vbest be understood if the following description isreadin connection with 'the drawings, in

` and 6 each rotatable in a vertical plane, belt 4 being whollycontained within belt 6.

Belt 4 is of .a kind having along its lateral edges tracks, not shown,adapted to engage and travel over the sprockets 8, spaced apart andfixed on rotatable shaft 11 which is supported in the bearings l2 and 14(Figure 2) on the j inside of opposite end walls of the casing 16, andaround E sprockets. 20 mounted on rotatable shaft 21 similarly supportedwithin said casing.

Belt 6, -is .also of a kind having along its lateral edges tracks (notshown) adapted to engage and travel over sprockets 10, which are xed onrotatable shaft 11, on the outsi-de of said sprockets 8 respectively,and around sprockets 24 supported on the rotatable shaft 25.

From its engagement with sprockets S conveyor belt 4 passes from theytop of said sprockets downwardly under sprockets i8, mounted on therotatable shaft'19, to the sprockets Ztl, and from the sprockets 20 ittravels back to sprockets S over the guide sprockets 22 mounted onrotatable shaft 23. n

lt will be noted that sprockets l0 and 24 are of substantially the samediameter and thus the upper and lower flights or reaches yof belt 6 areseparated a substantially uniform distance. Sprockets Ztl, however, areof much less diameter than sprockets 8 and accordingly the distancebetween the upper and lower flights or reaches of belt 4 variessubstantially. In this way an upper space for attempering gas isprovided over the upper reach of the belt t and between it and the underside of the belt 6. Similarly, a lower space for attempering gas isprovided between the lower reach of lthe belt 6 and the under side ofthe belt 4. The diameter of sprockets 10 exceeds the diameter ofsprockets 3 by only a small amount, for

vexample on the order of from l to 4, and accordingly ythe belts 4 and 6are spaced apart only a correspondingly small distance while rotatingthrough concentric paths around said sprockets 8 and li) respectively.Due to their proximate relation, material taken into the chamber C fromthe lower reach of the belt 6 is carried to the upper reach of the belti and thereby is transferred from the lower space for attempering gasover the lower reach of the bel-t 6 to the upper space for attemperinggas over the upper reach of the belt 4, each belt being a working beltin that material to be treated is exposed to a drying or otherattempering gas while :travelling on a reach thereof, v

Thus the upper flight of belt 4 is spaced well above the lower flight ofbelt 6 at the point where belt 4 travels around sprockets 20, andpositioned to receive material discharged at this point from belt 4 isthe pair of rollers r1 and 'r2 rotated toward one another by anysuitable means, no-t illustrated, to press, shrea-d or otherwisedisintegrate the material m. By this structure and by reasony of thespace between the belts 4 and 6 where they-pass over `the sprockets 2t)and 24, respectively, a cascading space is provided whereby material iscascaded from the end of the upper reach of the belt 4 for reception onthe lower reach of the belt 6 preferably after having been subjected tothe disintegrating action of the rollers r1 and r2.

Material m to be processed is initially supplied into the apparatusthrough the hopper 26 (Figure 3) which feeds onto one margin of thehorizontal lower flight of belt 6, and is then carried around shaft 11between belts 6 and 4, being gradually transferred from belt 6 to belt 4while travelling in a semi-circular path with and between said belts.The material is then carried through the horizontal upper flight of belt4 and falls into the nip of rollers Y r1 and r2, the surface of whichmay be modified in accordance with the particular material beingprocessed and the processing step desired, and is pressed and ground orotherwise acted upon to destroy lumps which may have started forming andgenerally to disintegrate the material to facilitate change in itstemperature and moisture characteristics.

The material after passing between rollers r1 and r2 falls onto theinner surface of the portion of belt 6 travelling through its lowerflight and is thus led back, together withy material newly fed inthrough hopper 26, to the semi-circular confining space or chamberCprovided between belts 4 and 6 during their concentric travel aroundsaid sprockets 8 and l0 respectively. Between the rollers medios 3 r1and rz and the lower flight ot belt 6 intercept-ors 28 may be providedand disposed to deflect the material transversely of belt 6, in adirection away from the feed hopper 26, to obtain a continuous ratherthan a batch operation.

For operating continuously fresh material will beloontinuously suppliedonto the belt adjacent one margin, the left margin as viewed by thereader in Figure 3, and the material which has once passed through thesemi-circular space or chamber C, between the sai-d concentricallydisposed portions of said belts 4 and 6, will be progressivelytransferred transversely of said belts until deflected. by the finaldeflector 28a onto a screw conveyor 29 by which it may be conveyed away,for removal to packaging equipment or to other processing.

While the material is being transported by belts i vand v6 attemperingair may be introduced into the casing 16,

as for example, through a system comprising blower 3i? `and `conduit 32,the channel extending between the upper flights of belts 4 and 6 in thedirection of travel of the material to port 34 leading into downwardlyextending conduit 36, from the port 37 in the lower end of conduit 36beneath baille 3S, which extends horizontally back toward the chargingpoint of chamber C, just above, and in parallel relation to, the lowerflight of belt 6, to the discharge port 39 and upwardly extendingconduit 40.

The apparatus is simple and continuous in operation. By it heatsensitive material may be treated rapidly and evenly in a continuousoperation, or, if desired, by removing the deflectors 28 and 28a thematerial can be treated in a batch operation.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention amethod and apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove set forthtogether with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfullyachieved. As various possible embodiments might be made of themechanical features of the Iabove invention and as the art hereindescribed might be varied in various parts, all without departing fromthe scope of the invention, it is to be understood that all matterhereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. Apparatus for treating material which comprises a horizontallydisposed shaft, a first pair of sprockets on said shaft, a second pairof sprockets on said shaft, the sprockets comprising said second pairbeing of greater diameter than the sprockets comprising said first pair,two rotatable members mounted on axes substantially parallel to saidshaft, one of said rotatable members being of greater diameter than theother, a first endless member extending around said first pair ofsprockets on said shaft and around the smaller of said rotatablemembers, and `a second endless member extending around said second pairof sprockets on said shaft Iand around the larger of said rotatablemembers, said endless members being disposed in the same vertical plane,and said second endless member entirely surrounding said first endlessmember.

2. Apparatus for treating material which comprises a first shaft, afirst pair of sprockets on said first shaft, a second pair of sprocketson said first shaft, the sprockets comprising said second pair being ofgreater diameter than the sprockets comprising said first pair, a secondshaft parallel to said first shaft, but spaced therefrom, a pair ofsprockets on said second shaft, a first endless belt member extendingaround the said first pair of sprockets on said first shaft and aroundsaid pair of sprockets on said second shaft, a third shaft, and a pairof sprockets on said third shaft, the sprockets on said third shaftbeing of greater diameter than the sprockets on said second shaft, and asecond endless belt member extending around the said second pair ofsprockets on said first shaft and around the pair of sprockets onjsaidthird shaft, said second belt member completely surrounding said firstbelt member.

3. Apparatus for treating material comprising 4a closure,

Cit

three horizontally extending and substantially parallel shafts mountedfor rotation within said closure, two pairs of sprockets mounted on thefirst of said shafts, the sprockets of one pair being of greaterdiameter than the sprockets of the other pair, the second of said shaftsbeing located between said first shaft and the third shaft, a pair ofsprockets on said second shaft, of smaller diameter than the smallersprockets on said first shaft, and said third shaft having thereon apair of sprockets of greater diameter than the sprockets on said secondshaft, a first belt extending around the smaller pair of sprockets onsaid first shaft and around the sprockets on said second shaft, and asecond belt extending around the larger sprockets on said first shaftand around the sprockets on said third shaft, and entirely enclosingsaid first belt.

4.-. The apparatus claimed in claim l including `a closure, means forintroducing material into said closure and onto the lower flight of saidsecond belt, means for advancing said belts whereby the material isengaged between said belts while they lare passing around the said twopairs of sprockets on said shaft and transferred from said second beltto the upper flight of said first belt and re-transferred onto the lowerflight of said second belt at the end of the travel of said first beltthrough its upper flight.

5. The apparatus claimed in claim l, including a closure in which saidendless members are enclosed, a plenum chamber within said closure, andmeans for supplying an attempering gas into said plenum chamber, saidcharnber extending along the upper flight of said first endless memberand along the lower iiight of said second endless member for attemperingmaterial while passin7 through said iiights on said endless membersrespectively.

6. Apparatus for continuously processing heat-sensitive material whichcomprises two endless belt members and means for mounting said membersso that one is completely contained within the other, means for causingsaid members to travel in the same direction, means for bringing saidmembers close together during a portion of the travel of each member forarcuate movement about a common axis from substantially below said axisto substan tially above said axis, means for separating said membersfrom each other during the remainder of the travel of each member, andmeans for supporting and disposing said endless members for repeatedlytransferring the material between the upper flight of one member and thelower flight of the other member, including means for alternatelytransferring the material from one member to the other in a thin,uniform layer, and in a distintegrated mass and for transporting saidmaterial through a substantial distance of travel on each of saidmembers alternately in direct contact with an attempering gas.

7. Apparatus for treating material which comprises a first endless belt,a second endless belt, means for mounting said first and second beltswith said second belt surrounding said first belt and each havinglaterally extending upper and lower reaches, the laterally disposedupper reach of said rst belt being substantially spaced from the underside of the upper reach of said second belt to provide an upper spacefor attempering gas over the upper reach of said first belt, thelaterally disposed lower reach of said second belt being substantiallyspaced from the under side of the lower reach of said first belt toprovide a lower space for attempering gas over the lower reach of saidsecond belt, said belts being in proximate relation at one extremity ofsaid reaches for carrying material between said belts from said lowerreach of said second belt to said upper reach of said first belt, andsaid belts being substantially spaced from each other at the otherextremity of said reaches to provide a material cascading space forcascading material from said upper reach of said first belt and itsreception on said lower reach of said second belt, means for moving saidbelts in the same direction at substantially the same rate for carryingmaterial from said lower reach of said second belt to the upper reach ofsaid rst belt and cascading it lfrom said. upper reach of said rst belt,and means for directing attempering gas for transitory contact withmaterial on said belts in said upper and lower spaces.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 which comprises means fordistintegrating material cascaded from the upper reach of said iirstbelt and depositing the disintegrated material on the lower reach offsaid second belt.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 which comprises means for movingmaterial transversely of said belts through a portion of the widththereof responsive to a complete travel circuit of said first belt.

10. Apparatus for attempering material which comprises a first endlessbelt, a second endless belt, means for mounting said rst and secondbelts with said second belt surrounding said rst belt and each belthaving laterally extending upper and lower reaches, said belts being inproximate relation at one extremity of said reaches for carryingmaterial between them from the lower reach of said second belt to theupper reach of said rst belt yand said belts being substantially spacedfrom each other at the other extremity of said reaches to provide amaterial cascading zone for cascading material from the upper reach ofsaid first belt and its reception on the lower reach of said secondbelt, means for moving said belts in the same direction for carryingmaterial from the lower reach of said second belt to the upper reach ofsaid first belt and cascading it from the upper reach of the first belt,and means for attempering material while disposed on the upper reach ofsaid first belt and while disposed on the lower reach of said secondbelt.

11. In apparatus for attempering material, the combination comprising arst endless belt, a second endless belt,

means for mounting said first and second belts with said second beltsurrounding said first belt and each belt having laterally extendingupper and lower reaches, said belts being in proximate relation in amaterial lifting zone at one extremity of said reaches for carryingmaterial between them from the lower reach of said second belt to theupper reach of said first belt, said belts being substantially spacedfrom each other along said upper and lower reaches to provide spacestherebetween for carrying material on the upper surface of said upperreach of said first belt in substantially spaced relation with respectto the under surface of the upper reach of said second belt and forcarrying material on the upper surface of said lower reach of saidsecond belt in substantially spaced relation to the under surface of thelower reach of said first belt, means for moving said belts in the samedirection at substantially the same rate for carrying material from saidlower reach of said second belt through said material lifting zone tosaid upper reach of said first belt, and means for attempering materialwhile disposed in said spaces on the upper reach of said first belt andon the lower reach of said second belt.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,670,673 Williams May 22, 1928 2,213,668 Dundas et al Sept. 3, 19402,412,763 Baker Dec. 17, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,370 Great Britain 1833

